


Darling

by canisbaileyilupus



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Implied/Referenced Suicide, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Sex Education, Sex Work, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-20 09:29:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14892036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canisbaileyilupus/pseuds/canisbaileyilupus
Summary: The world changed when sex became the main priority to save lives from suicide. Everyone joined a field they loved whilst also following the law.“Everyone must learn sexual education and abstinence is illegal. Anyone showing signs of depression must be seen by a doctor immediately to avoid death.”Life changed for Shiro, Lance, Keith, Hunk, and Katie/Pidge when everyone got split up. Years later, they meet again, and their lives got a lot more complicated.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim, no idea where this came from. At first, I was thinking about DARLING in the FRANXX and their weird gender roles, which led me to writing a story about how sex is the most important aspect of the world and top health was finally prioritized over capitalism. Living in the US, life for someone who loves sex work and maintaining a health body while also being in the LGBTQ community is not good, especially during our current time with our tangerine burned president. This first chapter is all about the arc of this fan fiction. 
> 
> This is a sex heavy fan fiction, filled with LGBTQ themes like gender dysphoria, sexual discovery and all the more obvious sexual tension. Please note that I will not write anyone in sexual situations until they are all the legal age of 17/18. THIS IS A SLOW BURN SO BE PREPARED FOR ANGST AND TENSION FOR MANY CHAPTERS.

**Prologue**

 

Long, long ago, humanity was struck with a devastating death toll. It hadn’t happened overnight. During a time when sexual activity was seen as private or scarce thanks to Western culture, scientists and doctors noticed something extremely odd. Children watched their older family members die from suicide and manic episodes causing extreme accidents. News reports every so often were filled with announcements from the medical and scientific community. Doctors and scientists studied these suicidal and manic episodes and discovered their problem. A chemical imbalance in the brain caused those who had not been in happy situations suffered from these suicidal thoughts and manic episodes. Most couples committed suicide due to lack of sexual activity, married couples lost their spouses after months of no sexual activity. Loneliness caused these deaths to climb as well, with injuries to genitals due to lack of sexual activity from other people. Masturbation was studied closely and the medical and scientific community noticed a pattern. Those who engaged in sexual activity regularly, a few times a month per say, were less likely to die than those who hadn’t had sexual activity. Another note was that those who had masturbated in between long periods of sexual inactivity with another person helped lower the death rate, although not by much. Ten years of this mess created a whole new world, and a whole new union.

 

A selected group of people from each country were voted by the country’s people to find a solution to save lives. This union was part of the U. N., and many people were outraged by this. Conservatives rallied for several months over this, unaware that they would all be silenced due to their manic episodes. Sexually active conservatives began to notice their rallies growing smaller and eventually gave up, going along with the U.N. and the decision to vote for those able to cure this chemical imbalance. Each group of people had been voted by citizens based on certain views and education, but each person had to be different. One person needed to be in charge of scientific research, a second person for medical research to work with the scientific studies and research, a third person for gender and sexuality, a fourth person for education, and a fifth person to handle business and management.

 

Laws were put in place for every country, each leader signing their names and announcing to their citizens of this, the United States being the last country of them all.

 

“The president has signed a new law effective immediately. Each child must be tested yearly with a psychiatrist and every three months once signs of puberty begin to show. Sexual education MUST be taught in grades 6 to 12. Abstinence is illegal and is punishable by law. Anyone showing signs of depression must be seen by a doctor as soon as possible to avoid death.”

 

Colleges and universities included a new curriculum, including sexual education for minors, the medical community, scientific community, and for those looking to start businesses in the sex industry. Porn became a must, with jobs in pornography sky rocketing. Sex workers started up sex toy shops, brothels became legal, prostitution was legalized, taxed, and made safe for everyone and anyone willing to work in that industry.

 

Within a time span of ten more years, people grew accustomed to their new world. People stopped feeling shame, sexual violence rates plummeted to nearly nonexistent. And this is where a group of friends began their stories.

 

 

 

 

 

**Friendships**

Lance McLain was a great kid in school, always made everyone laugh, even when children had come to school with red puffy cheeks and crying. He didn’t know much about what was going on, but he was always there to put a smile on everyone’s faces. So when he became friends with Keith Kogane, he didn’t know just how much his life would change within a few months.

 

Katie Holt and Hunk Garrett was in the same class with Lance and Keith. Katie came to school one day, crying about her brother going missing and her parents dying shortly after that. Lance was there to comfort her. Hunk showed up at school the same way just a couple of weeks later, his family disappearing suddenly, only leaving him with his grandmother and grandfather. Of course Lance had shown up immediately to make him smile. They all grew to be close friends before these tragedies, so when school was about to end for the year, Keith showed up with the same face, puffy red bags under his eyes and a spaced out look.

 

Takashi Shirogane had watched Keith grow up while living next door. He was so important to him, so when his mother disappeared, he would watch over Keith while his father was at work. One day, after Keith finished a normal grade school day a month before summer vacation, he saw police officers in his house. Shiro, as Keith would call him, comforted him when he entered the front door. His father had committed suicide just months after Keiths mother disappeared. He was upset, crying on Shiros’ shoulder and wiping snot on his sleeves. He was quickly adopted by Shiros’ family and taken care of immediately. It had broken him as a child, seeing doctors about his mental health. Shiro hadn’t known what was going on, just under the age where puberty was to begin. In fear of what might happen to their small town, Keith and Shiro had to say goodbye to their friends at school. Shiro had grown close to a classmate named Allura Altea, so when he heard this from his parents, he knew this would hurt not only him, but his friend Allura.

 

The last day of school was hard on everyone. Lance had to say goodbye to all his friends. Katie, Hunk, and Keith had to say goodbye to each other and to Lance. Shiro had to say goodbye to Allura, promising to call her when their home phone was set up.

 

That summer, Keith, Shiro and their family moved away to another state. Katie found a place to stay in the foster care system before her brother Matt found her and took her in. Hunk and his family moved to a bigger city with better schools. And Shiro tried calling Allura when they had their home phone set up, but quickly lost touch when he started puberty. Life was changing for everyone, and no one knew what would happen ten years later, when they all moved back to their small town as they all entered their second year in high school.


	2. 10 Years Later...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years later, they meet again, and Lance couldn't believe how hot all of his friends got.

**Lance**

 

He was just a few hours shy of turning 16. Browsing the internet and sharing some memes, he kept an eye on the clock, although his eyes were starting to droop. _Don’t fall asleep, I need to see that clock change._ Him telling himself to stay awake didn’t work unfortunately. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them hours later before the sun began to rise. He’d gotten used to sleeping early, since he would always go for a run to the local cliffside where ladies would gather themselves to the lake for a naked dip. Of course, watching the ladies swim was just a bonus. What he loved more was the view of the sunrise behind the forest that surrounded the lake. His normal routine was always getting up before the sun did, having a cup of coffee with a hot meal packed in his backpack and a water bottle for hydration. He would also put his headphones into his ears and listen to his morning playlist on his phone, jogging the tiredness from his body towards the lake. He would zone out during these times, remembering the route to the lake and eventually making it to the cliffside where he would watch over the lake. He’d been there so often it was like he lived there, a small shack functioning like a tiny home for him. When he first stumbled upon it, no one was living there. It was completely abandoned, so every day he would leave before the sun came up and fix it up little by little. Every so often, he’d bring girls over to his shack during the night and have sex with them, paid or not. Mostly not paid though, he wasn’t working to have sex with paid ladies, it was so he could fix up the little shack like home so he could be there away from his big family. He didn’t hate his family, but he liked to have privacy and a quiet space sometimes. Big families usually meant less alone time and more loud children.

 

Just as he was showing up to his little shack, he noticed someone sitting in his usual cliffside spot. It was normal to catch a homeless person sitting in the area, which he would show some kindness with something to eat, and if the person was good looking, give them an hour of his time to talk and do other things. Other things being sex, of course. The homeless didn’t have access to much, so he felt like he was doing some good while also feeling good. The homeless person would always thank him and be on their way, never returning. The person in his spot this time, though… Was not a homeless person.

 

Lance stood behind the guy sitting at the cliffside, getting a good look at the persons backside. The guy wore fingerless gloves. Who the hell wears fingerless gloves? The guy also had a mullet. Was this guy a biker or something? Clearing his throat, the stranger turned around in surprise and stood up, wiping off the dirt from his butt. Lance had to admit, he had a nice ass. Too bad the guy was equipped with a bad hairstyle and fashion sense.

 

“Sorry, this must be your spot.” The stranger said, continuing to dust off his pants.

 

Lance chuckled. “It’s no big deal, its not like this is my property. Its a public place, dude.”

 

“If you want me to leave, I can-”

 

Lance held up his hand, as if stopping his mouth from moving. “Dude, I said its fine. What are you doing here this early in the morning? No one is ever here at this time, unless they’re down there.” Lance pointed towards the lake behind the stranger. The guy turned around to see naked women bathing and chatting in the lake.

 

The guy turned back to face Lance, his face clearly showing how awkward it was for him to see naked women out in public. “I uh, just moved here. I mean, I used to live in this town, but now I’m back. Things have changed.”

 

Lance thought about what the guy said. “So, you left this small town, but you’re back? Why did you come back here? There’s nothing to do besides sex work or hire sex workers.”

 

“Its a long story.” The guy looked actually uncomfortable. “Sorry, I’m just gonna go.”

 

“Suit yourself, dude.” Lance watched the stranger leave before shouting back. “Wait, I didn’t catch your name?”

 

The stranger waved his hand without turning around. “It’s Keith.”

 

Later that evening…

 

Lance had been pacing his room all afternoon since he came home from his morning run. He was sure he remembered a Keith when he was a kid, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It had to be a long time ago if it was bothering him this much. He didn’t really continue thinking about how he remembered Keith, his mother calling him from downstairs for his birthday dinner and a cake. His brothers and sisters had all gathered around the table to thank her for the meal before digging into the food. Lance had laid in bed after cleaning up, not able to move or think from all the food. He was too tired to do anything, so he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 

~

 

Finally, school was starting again. Lance was getting bored of doing nothing all day. He didn’t really like school, but it did enjoy the sex ed class. His teacher was weird but at least he could make jokes and give everyone something to laugh about. After figuring out the layout of the school last year, he knew where everything was. Well, mostly everything. He kept getting his math and science classes mixed up because they were in the same hall.

 

He went to his locker to put his things inside like his books he needed for classes and binders full of fresh paper. He knew most of the papers would be full of weird shit, but he didn’t really care that much. As long as he passed his classes and turned in assignments, there was no need for note-taking.

 

His homeroom class was the same as last year, thankfully. It was the same teacher that does sex education for all the high school students, even if he looked a little weird. Entering the classroom to see a redhead with a handlebar mustache and a strange accent could put you at ease if you expected to see a woman holding the class.

 

Lance walked into the classroom seeing his teacher sitting at his desk with a newspaper in his hands. “Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man!” He shouted, throwing his shoulder bag into a chair as he walked towards the teachers desk.

 

“Mr. McLain, I appreciate the compliment but you need to use the Mister before calling my name. Thats very unprofessional! How will you find a suitable spouse when your manners are nonexistent?” Coran joked. Lance leaned over the desk, on hand on the surface and the other on his hip. He wiggled his eyebrows at Coran.

“Oh please, teach, I can get anyone I want, no manners needed.” Just as the class was filling up, the bell rang. Lance went to sit in the desk where his shoulder bag resided.

 

Coran folded his newspaper and placed it on his desk, standing up and clapping his hands. “Alright students, please take your seats. Its time for homeroom and the student news. Please watch the television screen and put your phones away. If I catch anyone with their phones out, I will keep them until the end of the day.” Coran turned on the television in the corner of the room and stood quietly against his desk.

 

The small screen brightened up to show the logo for the school, “GO LIONS” was in the right corner as a student with a microphone spoke.

 

“Welcome to another year, students and faculty. Please stand for our national anthem.” The United States anthem appeared on the screen and everyone stood up, hands over their hearts, and recited the anthem in unison. Once over, everyone sat down.

 

“Today is your first day of the new year, and with the new year comes new students. Please be advised that your new classmates will need help around the large campus, so please have one student from each homeroom class be in charge of assisting the new students. Now for the community calender...” The student on the news continued talking, Lance wasn’t really listening since he was too busy flipping through his school agenda. His classes were scattered across campus, so in order to keep track of where he needed to be, he began to write down all his classes he needed to attend on different days.

 

It wasn’t like every other high school in America, with eight classes in a single day, it was a unique system that seemed to work with their town along with other small towns across the country. Classes were held between nine in the morning and four in the afternoon, leaving an hour for lunch. One hour out of the school day was left for sex education, two hours for mandatory classes like math and science, and the other three hours were left for anything else any students wanted to learn. Some students taking honors or AP classes used those hours for studying or sleeping, some used those hours in the end of the day to go to work so their school days would be shorter, and there were a handful of students doing some kind of art like theater or singing lessons or even learning instruments. Lance unfortunately was the odd one out. He didn’t do much other than joke around, so he had used those three extra hours in his school day the previous year to work on his body. Kind of like physical education only he just worked out a lot without talking to many students.

 

Once the student news was over, Coran turned off the television and began attendance. Lance hadn't noticed, but there was a familiar face in a desk closest to the door, sitting right behind him. As he called out names, Lance had gotten bored and completely forgot that the television was off and Coran was talking.

 

"Ah, a new name! Kogane, Keith?" Lance looked up from his agenda, scanning the room and finding a man in a mullet sitting behind him. 

 

"Here." Keith said, raising his hand because looking ahead and seeing Lance stare back at him.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

After homeroom was over, everyone left for the next class. "Lance, hold on a moment." Coran motioned for Lance to approach his desk, Keith following him. "Now, I know you must be very busy but a new fresh face may need some help around campus. Would you mind helping him out? If its not too much trouble, of course." Lance looked over to the guy with the mullet, Keith. Glancing around the room before looking back at Coran he smiled.

 

"Ya know, its not a big deal. My first class is a free period for me, so I don't mind showing the new kid around." Lance shifted his gaze towards Keith, winking. Keith just looked at him in confusion, his eyes squinting before looking away. 

 

"Excellent! Now, go on! I must prepare for my first class of the day." Coran shouted enthusiastically. He was a man with many words but few moments to spare them. And Lance had to admit that he indeed was his favorite teacher of the entire school.

 

Keith grabbed his back and flung it over his shoulder, walking out of the classroom and waited for Lance who was close behind him. A smug look on his face, he stood in front of Keith and held out his hand. "What?" Keith looked down at Lance's empty hand.

 

"I need to see your schedule. How am I going to show you around when I don't even know the classes you're attending?" Lance couldn't admit to himself that he was just curious about what classes the new kid was assigned. It was just so he could help the guy find his classes, nothing weird. Keith nodded slowly, pulling a sheet of paper from his backpack before zipping it up.

 

Keith watched Lance look at the paper slowly, nodding and saying "mhm" in various tones. It was like he was studying for a quiz but didn't know all the answers. And sure enough, Keith was right. 

 

"You don't know where I'm supposed to be going do you?" Keith responded. Lance looked up from the sheet and scoffed.

 

"No... I don't know half of the classes' location. You trying to make me sound like an idiot?" Lance replied, trying to remember where exactly his next class was going to be. Keith chuckled.

 

"You're doing a great job all by yourself." Keith uttered under his breath loud enough for Lance to hear. 

 

Lance folded up the paper and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Look, if you don't need help, just say so and I can leave." Keith rolled his eyes.

 

"Don't be a drama queen, I was just joking." He sounded like he was annoyed, according to Lance. They hadn't been outside of the classroom for a few minutes and they were already arguing. Lance could tell this was going to go on for awhile, but not wanting to waste time, he just hands Keith the paper, fixes the strap on his shoulder and starts walking down the hall for the parking lot. He honestly didn't want to help this guy out, since he had his first class period open so he could go grab something to eat. But no, Keith chased after him and grabbed ahold of his wrist instead. 

 

"Wait, where the hell am I supposed to go? I have a class and if I can find someone else to help me, can you at least do that?" Keith sounded hurt, like Lance was actually hurting his feelings. He turned to see the guy looking pissed off. He could feel the sweat on his hands.

 

"Go to the front office, ask them for help. You should hurry though, you only have a few more minutes before the bell." Lance smirked and Keith let go of his wrist. 

 

"Shit." Keith slipped his backpack all way on his back and ran down the hall in the opposite direction. 

 

"I hate to see you leave, but I love to watch you go." Lance whispered to himself, staring at Keith's ass again. It was tight, fit just right in his tight pants. He couldn't believe just how fucking great his ass looked in them, rustling his hair and groaning. This guy was an asshole, and very obviously secluded. His hair was a fucking nightmare to look at and not to mention those gloves only a middle aged dude with a motorbike would wear. But for some reason, as much as it pissed him off, he was starting to wonder if he was just sexually frustrated. He hadn't had sex in about a month or so, maybe it was time to hit up someone he hadn't seen in awhile.

 

Phone in hand, he walked outside to his car, sliding in and dialing a number. "Hey, Nyma. I got some time, wanna meet me in the shack in a few? I can pick you up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if I missed anything, I'll mention it in the next chapters notes.


	3. Awful Manners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's POV of the exchange between him and Lance both at the cliffside and at their first day at school.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Also, say hi to another friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't even intend for this to be part of the story, but having their points of view really helped me imagine how well they actually clash.

**Keith**

  
Leaving his small town with his new family was hard. Like, really hard. First he lost his mother, then his father. It was like the end for him, watching his entire world end when he packed up his stuff with his family, sitting in the backseat and staring out the window. He wasn't sure if he'd see his friends again, but his new brother, Shiro told him that one day they would come back. He knew it was going to happen, he believed it. It was the one thing keeping him from crying as they drove away.

  
Arriving at their new home was strange. It was just him, Shiro, and his parents in a moderately sized house, a bedroom for each other them and a loft upstairs for whatever the two boys wanted to do with it. Their parents had a bedroom with an on-suite of their own downstairs nearby the kitchen. Even though Keith was young, he had to admit the house was really nice. A new space, a new school, a new life for him, he felt a lot lighter when he picked out the bedroom he wanted, the one closest to the bathroom. Shiro just smiled and nodded, letting Keith choose felt like it was the right decision.

  
Keith grew up like a regular kid, he tried making some friends and inviting them over to play video games in the loft. He'd have birthdays with his friends, but things started changing when his brother started puberty. It wasn't too scary at first. Shiro would often leave the house at odd hours of the night and return home just before everyone was to wake up in the morning. Keith asked him about it, but all he said was he was going for a walk or to see a friend. He didn't understand why though, he could have just invited friends over. He did it a lot before, what was so different now?

  
Keith didn't pry when it came to Shiro, that is until Shiro started shouting at their parents and left the house, slamming the door behind him. Keith asked their parents what happened but all he got was a hug from their mother and a calming "everything's gonna be fine".

Keith soon began puberty, and he was told from their parents that he was to see a doctor if anything changed with his body. He was already twelve years old, somehow handling himself well. He was so worried about Shiro that he hadn't noticed his own body changes. When he turned thirteen, he started school with a new class, his sexual education class. After school on the first day, he talked to Shiro about it and he had a long talk about everything.

This was when Keith got scared, like really scared. Shiro talked to him about what happened when they moved away, learning very quickly that this wasn't going to be easy.

Weeks later, Shiro went missing. Their parents searched for days and Keith couldn't focus on school. He took a break from school, taking up home schooling to avoid being pushed back. Eventually they found Shiro, in a hospital in the next town over. Their parents were crying, grateful for finding him but when Keith finally saw Shiro, he was missing an arm. It was shocking, to see his brother without his right arm.

When Shiro was discharged, Keith helped his brother with anything and everything. Physical therapy was the roughest, fighting the help as much as he could but giving up and accepting the help when he started sobbing because he could no longer do things on his own. Keith never pried about what happened to his brother, he knew Shiro would tell him when he was ready.

Shiro eventually was able to get a prosthetic arm, which definitely helped everyone in the long run. Shiro was able to do things on his own, learning to take care of himself a lot more which gave Keith a chance to take care of himself.

Keith didn't talk much about himself. His doctor had been checking on him periodically as the law stated, every few months making sure he wasn't feeling suicidal or depressed. Keith hadn't noticed any changes in his mental health, since taking care of his brother was his top priority for about a year or so since they had found him without an arm and a little more after he got his prosthetic arm.

"I'm going to be personal here, Keith. I need to know how your sexual needs are. I know that you've been dealing with a lot, but its important to keep yourself healthy."

Keith hadn't honestly thought about it that much. His sex ed class taught him about what happened ten years ago and what he was to look forward to in the years to come. Unfortunately, since his brother had returned home, he had been so busy dealing with that, he had avoided everything dealing with his sexual needs.

Keith admitted he wasn't thinking about his sexual needs because of his brother. He wasn't wrong. But he also wasn't noticing how he was feeling when it came to sexuality.

 

  
Keith, who was just thirteen, had developed a crush on a kid in school, a friend of his. He hadn't asked anyone what it meant, because it was a lot of emotions and dealing with puberty. He would have friends who would talk to him about how cute a girl from class was, and he didn't really seem to mind, although when him and his friends would have sleepovers, it got gross. They would talk about what the girls would look like, if they had penises too, etc. Keith made his friends change the subject, since they hadn't learned about it in sex ed class yet.

Keith asked his sexual education teacher about what his friends were saying, and his teacher told him that it was normal to be curious at his age. But Keith didn't think about girls they way his friends did. He then asked his teacher another question.

"Can boys like boys?" He was shy and nervous, wondering if this was normal.

His teacher just smiled and nodded. "Of course, and girls can like girls too." It was a little validation that he needed to hear. So, during his next sleepover with his friends, he talked to one of them about his crush.

His friend was immediately disgusted. Keith thought everything was okay, but his friend told him it was wrong, forcing the rest of their friends to leave his place in the middle of the night.

Keith couldn't trust anyone with his emotions, especially when Shiro went missing.

 

 

Shiro figured out what was going on when he returned and was able to take care of himself again. Keith was alone a lot more, no friends came by, all he did was go for runs and workout for hours on end.

"Whatever happened to your friends?" Shiro asked one evening after dinner when Keith was doing the dishes. Shiro was putting away the clean dishes and they had a moment of peace so he could talk to his brother about his very odd behavior.

"They aren't my friends. Not anymore." Shiro put up the last glass in the cupboard and leaned against the counter by Keith.

"What do you mean? Did something happen?" Clearly concerned, he stopped leaning against the counter and placed his prosthetic hand on Keith's shoulder.

"It's nothing, okay? It was right before you left, so its the past." Keith scrubbed the last pot from dinner and rinsed it off, placing it on the drying rack. "It doesn't matter what happened, they weren't very nice so we're not friends anymore okay?"

"Keith, you know you can talk to me about anything right?" Shiro kept staring at his brother. Keith just looked back and nodded.

"I won't tell mom and dad, I'm just worried about you." Keith looked away, sighing.

"It's not that I don't want to tell mom and dad. Its just that..." Keith was silent for a minute.

And then Keith told Shiro everything. He was upset and holding back tears, his emotions overflowing and all Shiro could do was hold him.

"No matter what, I will always be there for you. Never feel like you are alone in this. If you want to talk about something, I'm here. If you need advice, I'm your guy." Shiro pulled away from the hug and rustled Keith's messy hair. "Best bros stick together, right?" Shiro held up his hand, making a fist. Keith wiped his face with his sleeves and chuckled.

"Yeah." He fist-bumped Shiro, receiving a pat on the back.

  
Eventually, Shiro graduated from high school and started looking for work in their hometown, worried that Keith would not be able to socialize with anyone after talking to him about what had happened.

Their parents were supportive of Shiro's decision, knowing that he was grown and able to make his own decisions. They gave him enough money for an apartment until he could get a job, which happened quicker than he thought. Keith was packing his bags when realized what was happening.

He was growing up, his hormones were all over the place, and being back in a town he hadn't seen in ten years was going to be another life-changing event. With all the trauma he had experienced in his life, his sexual needs were stunted. Shiro didn't know, but Keith was secretly hoping to meet a nice guy in their hometown. Being away from the homophobic people at his high school would be the best case scenario for him. He finished packing his bags with a smile on his face.

\----

 

Moving was a lot harder to do when you're strong enough to move things on your own. He had grown a good amount of muscle from working out, although he couldn't say anything about his hair. It was messy, what long hair he had was tied in a very small pony tail so he wasn't sweating so much it would matte his hair against his skin.

Shiro and Keith had been moving what little furniture they had and the boxes of miscellaneous junk for a few hours before stopping to have dinner. They just had pizza and some soda, a usual meal for those who moved frequently, according to the internet. You can find some weird things when you're looking for a moving truck online.

They finally finished moving everything into their apartment before Shiro turned the truck in and taking an Uber home. Moving during the summer was the best decision for the both of them it had seemed. Keith was able to finish up as much as he could in order to start school again in the fall, hoping that the kids at the high school would be nicer to him than how his old friends were. He'd been away from public school for so long he hadn't realized just how much he was missing out, and as much as he hated people, he was feeling happier knowing that he might know someone there.

After a few weeks of organizing their apartment, Keith decided to explore the town and get familiar with areas he would be walking around to get to school. He was thankful that he wasn't too far away, and if it got too stressful he could find a nice place to hang out if he needed to be away from school or the apartment. There was a path inbetween some trees that caught his attention, a very clear opening that people have walked through for many years. It was quite early while on his daily morning run, so stopping to scout the area was a very easy decision to make. The sun had begun to rise when he found a cliffside, a small shack sitting atop the cliff. It was perfect, relaxing, and quiet. Keith hadn't seen a site quite as beautiful as this one in a long time. He took a seat at the cliffside, staring at the trees surrounding the area and enjoying the sunrise reach over the wooded area around him. It was too perfect, there was no way someone wasn't already claiming this spot.

This was when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see a guy standing a few feet away from him, sporting a blue tank top and some running shorts. His skin was tan but his face was gorgeous, the sunrise wasn't even this beautiful. His outfit exposed his muscles in a way that had him screaming inside. How can a guy this gorgeous be right in front of him?

"Sorry, this must be your spot." Keith said, standing up and wiping the dirt from his pants. Then, the guy chuckled.

"It's no big deal, its not like this is my property. Its a public place, dude." Shit, his voice was like an angel slapped him across the face with a goddamn hammer. He didn't even hesitate to respond.

"If you want me to leave, I can-" Keith was cut off with the movement of the strangers hand in front of him like a stop sign and he was forced to hit the brakes on his speech.

"Dude," the guy was so chill, how can he be so chill right now? Keith was in his space, and it was obvious. "I said its fine."

There was a little irritation bubbling in his chest. "What are you doing here this early in the morning? No one is ever here at this time, unless they're down there." The guy pointed behind Keith, to which he hadn't even noticed the handful of women skinny dipping in a lake below the cliff. He couldn't believe he had sat there for a good few minutes, the ladies down at the bottom must think he's a huge creep. An embarrassed flush painted his cheeks as he turned back to the stranger. He tried to get off track from seeing what he had just seen, which was a bit difficult, if he were a straight man.

"I, uh-" Keith started stuttering. While a cute guy was talking to him. He was such an idiot. Trying to gain his composure, he cleared his throat. "Just moved here. I mean, I used to live in this town, but now I'm back." He was rambling, thats awful. "Things have changed."

It was quiet for a moment, obvious that the stranger was thinking. "So, you left this small town, but now you're back?" It was like the guy thought Keith was an idiot for coming back. "Why did you come back here? There's nothing to do besides sex work or hire sex workers."

Was this guy really having a conversation with Keith? He didn't want to stick around anymore.

"It's a long story." Keith walked pasted the stranger, trying to keep himself from feeling the sweat in his hands, but failing at it. "Sorry, I'm just gonna go."

"Suit yourself." The stranger said as Keith walked away. Before he disappeared through the trees, he asked one more question. "Wait, I didn't catch your name?"

"It's Keith." He responded, avoiding turning back to the guy and waving at him.

Once home, Keith stood in the shower, thinking about how friendly the gorgeous faced tan guy was. Like, extremely friendly. He had no idea anyone could be that friendly, besides Shiro. That night, Keith barely slept.

 

 

  
Shiro finally found work at a local gas station just before Keith would start school. They still had some money left from their parents, but Shiro decided that he would save that for emergencies like his prosthetic arm needing repairs or hospital visits.

 

 

 

Keith started school the same day as everyone else, and he couldn't believe how different it was to middle school. Walking into this homeroom class was surreal. Student news was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen, the teacher being the second weirdest thing he'd ever seen. Sure, he seemed classy, but there was something about that handlebar mustache that gives him weird vibes.

He was feeling so weirded out by the teachers mustache he barely saw that the guy in front of him in the classroom was the tan stranger from the cliffside shack.

  
"McLain, Lance." The teacher, known as Mr. Coran, shouted. The guy in front of him responded with a "here" and finger guns directed towards Mr. Coran. And he actually did the stupid finger guns back at him. The only word Keith could think of at this moment about this guy was obnoxious.

 

 

The bell rang and he was told by Mr. Coran that he'd be given a tour of the school by Lance. Keith stood in the hall, watching Lance stand in front of him and hold out his hand.

 

"What?" Lance gave him a smug look.

 

"I need to see your schedule. How am I going to show you around when I don't even know the classes you're attending?" His annoying tone was starting to get on his nerves. It was clashing with his beautiful face and it really bothered Keith.

 

Holding back a groan of irritation, he nodded and handed over his schedule before zipping his backpack up. Watching Lance look over the sheet of paper, Keith could tell that Lance had no idea what he was doing.

 

"You don't even know where I'm supposed to go, do you?" He tested. Lance scoffed.

 

"No..." Lance's eyes shifted from the page to Keith's face before going back to the paper. "I don't know half of the classes' location." Lance placed his hands on his hips and stared at Keith, bothered. "You trying to make me sound like an idiot?"

 

Keith chuckled. "You're doing a great job all by yourself." He muttered under his breath. He hadn't noticed that Lance heard him until he folded up the schedule, clearly discontent with the rebuttal.

 

"Look, if you don't need help, just say so and I can leave." Keith just rolled his eyes and took the paper from Lance.

 

"Don't be a drama queen, I was just joking." Keith felt offended that Lance didn't understand his dry humor.

 

Refusing to continue the conversation, Lance just fixed the shoulder strap on his bag and start walking towards the end of the hall. Keith wasn't going to let him get away that easily.

 

Snatching his wrist, he hissed, "Wait, where the hell am I supposed to go? I have a class and if I can find someone else to help me, can you at least do that?" He wasn't hurt, it was just a stressful day. This was literally a new experience for him.

 

His eyebrows were furrowed when Lance turned back to face Keith. "Go to the front office, ask them for help." Then he fucking smirked. "You should hurry though, you only have a few more minutes before the bell."

 

Keith let go of his grip and felt the uneasiness in his stomach. "Shit." He slipped the other strap of his backpack on his other shoulder and booked it down the hall in the opposite direction that Lance was going. There was no way he could be late on his first day to his first class if there was a good reason. He just couldn't. It would hurt his pride too much.

 

He finally reached the office and saw a petite girl at the counter, dirty blonde hair and glasses sifting through papers. She noticed Keith walk into the office and smiled.

 

"A fresh face, what do you need help with?" Keith felt immediately welcomed and a little calmer knowing she wasn't going to snap at him for the bell as it rang loudly in the room.

 

"I need someone to help me find my classes. A guy in my homeroom was very unhelpful." Keiths face was not hiding the dissatisfaction that came with knowing Lance.

 

"You must mean Lance. He's pretty popular around here. Always getting into trouble, that kid. Well, I'm gonna need that schedule of yours and I'll give you a map if that helps you?"

 

Keith gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, seriously, it wasn't that hard for the guy to do that for me, but he had to be insatiable." He pulled the schedule from his pocket and handed it over to her.

 

The girl looked it over and had a surprised look on her face. "Wait, Keith? Oh my god." She looked up at Keith again.

 

Keith gave a confused expression. "Thats me, uhh why did you say it like that?"

 

"We used to go to school together. I never forget a name. I didn't know you'd actually come back."

 

"Wait, I'm lost. Who are you?"

 

 

 

The girl pulled out her phone and opened up a photo of a group of children, all around probably six. Keith couldn't believe what he was looking at. "Whoa, is that you, Katie???"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to look up synonyms of annoyed and confused. I'm not even joking, I don't have a damn clue what I'm writing. I wrote this chapter in 2 days in between sleeping and working the damn nightshift at my gas station job. My brain is fried.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Let me know if I forgot anything and I'll update it in the next chapters notes.


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